Sweet Dreams
by Cassidy Rai
Summary: A short little piece sent after OotP. A girl is plagued with nightmares, and finally finds peace. OotP spoilers!


Sweet Dreams  
By Princess Raizel

Sirius's hand gently caressed my cheek, and I turned my face towards him. My hands gently entwinned his neck, as he stared deep into my eyes.He drew our lips closer together by a gentle, yet forceful, tug at the back of my neck. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

Suddenly the pressure against my neck vanished. My hands were left holding nothing. I opened my eyes in horror to discover Sirius had combusted into a pile of black ashes. And even as I watched, the ashes twisted and melted. The blacked mass molded and began to take shape. A rubber-like snake lifted it's head, the black eyes glittering in the fire light. It's tongue flickered out; once, twice. And then it lunged, fangs extended.

I awoke with a start, and bolted upright in my bed. My body was covered with a cold sweet. My eyes darted around the darkness of my bedroom, heart pounding with fear. Shadows were cast throughout the large chamber, caused by light streaming in from the large french doors.

I gingerly stepped out of my bed. My feet slid across the cool wooden floor as I grabbed my cloak from the hook on the wall. I stepped onto my balcony, into the flood of moonlight. It was a abnormally cool night in June, and I gripped the cloak tightly around my body which was otherwise just wrapped in a thin silk nightgown. My feet pulsed slightly against the cold stone beneath them, but my mind was otherwise. My eyes were fixed towards the sky. Despite the brilliant white light emitting from the full moon, the stars still shone bright. One star in particular made itself noticable. It seemed to jump and twinkle, just to spite me. I turned my head in disgust from the constellation called Canis Major. 

I closed my eyes and tried to fight the hurt. A tear pushed its way past my eye lid, and slid down my pale skin, illuminated in contrats to the dark forest green cloak which was my only source of warmth. 

I heard movement behind me, and I instantly froze. I silently cursed myself for being so careless, then bravely turned to face whatever was with me on the balcony.

A lone figure sat in the shadows. How I didn't notice him before, I couldn't be sure. Perhaps he just blended in so well. Perhaps I had just be distracted...

Struggling to control my fear and the panic that rose in my throat, I spoke, with only the slightest tremor. "How are you?" My voice had an air of authority to it.

The stranger laughed. It was a bitter laugh, but a laugh none the less. "Why Sabrina," he said, "Can't you recognize your favorite cousin?"

I felt my jaw drop involuntarily. My cousin? I only had one... but he was... He couldn't be here. He wouldn't be here. But he was.. I struggled for words. "Severus.." my voice left as quickly as it came to me, and I said nothing further. 

We stood in silence for a few moments. Finally, he broke it. "You'll catch the death, Summers. Let's go inside." He grabbed me lightly by the elbow to lead me back inside to the warmth.

"No." I said quietly. I wasn't done here. In a flash, my shyness and confusion was gone. I turned towards Severus. "Why are you here? What do you want from me?" I didn't give him a chance to answer. "No, I will not help you or any of that stupid order... Not after..." I trailed off.

Severus sighed. "I did not come to ask for anything. I do not want anything besides to find out how you are." his voice held true concern.

"How I am? Oh. I'm just wonderful!" I spat the words at him. "He's dead Severus. You know that." my voice caught in my throat. I'd admitted the words. I felt another tear slip out, followed by another, and then I couldn't stop them.

Severus wrapped his arms around me lightly. "Please Bina, why do you cry so? I thought you got over him 14 years ago. When he left you..."

He didn't leave me! I wanted to shout the words. Scream them. Instead I resorted to silence. Silence was a powerful weapon, when used properly.

Severus cleared his throat nervously. He was obviously fighting with what to say. It didn't surprise me, he was never one you looked to for comfort. "Sabrina, it was years ago... You moved on. You nearly married... You weren't even this upset when Aidan left you before..." I shot him a look. It silenced him. 

We stood in silence for a minute longer. This time, it was me who broke it. "I never loved Aidan. I would have married him for one reason. To give Sabine a father. But he never was the true father." Severus looked at me in awe and confusion. I was speaking of my beautiful daughter. She was to be 13 this year. Her father hadn't even stayed around for her birth. 

I paused. "Aidan could never have fathered Sabine. She looks nothing like him. If you'd think about it, you'd see. He was her father." I stopped, to let it sink in, but also to prevent the tears from flowing again. 

"Does... did he know?" Severus stammered.

"No. He never knew... How could I tell him?" My voice quivered. "I wasn't even allowed to see him. And now I never will!" I stood silently, facing into the moon. I raised my head slightly to her, and closed my eyes. The wind, warm now, blew over me. Someone was speaking. I could hear it. Always remember... I love you... 

My breath caught in my throat. The tears streamed down my face again, and I buried my head in Severus's cloak, sobbing silently.

~~

When I awoke the next morning, I was lying in my bed, tightly wrapped in my cloak. Severus was gone. The sunlight pooled in through my windows.I drew myself into a sitting position, and stretched. Creeping out of bed, my eyes caught on something on my dresser as the light reflected off it. I curiously approached it.

It was a picture... from my Hogwarts graduation. His face shone beside a much younger me, and he first blew me a kiss, and then kissed the young girl beside him. Scrawled across the top were two words... "Remember Sirius..."

From that night I slept peacfully. I was no longer awoken by the dream that had haunted me since his death. And I will always remember Sirius... and love his daughter that he gave to me. 

Comment

Okay, so it was kinda week. I'll revise it later. When I wrote it in my head the first time it was much better.


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